


On Love

by lalaleska



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluffy Ending, M/M, Original Character(s), Taito
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:28:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26367211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalaleska/pseuds/lalaleska
Summary: Yamato gives his daughter love advice; fluff ensues. [future!taito; oc; au; fluff city]
Relationships: Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida & Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Ishida Yamato | Matt Ishida/Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya
Comments: 6
Kudos: 49





	On Love

Yamato found that his mornings had grown steadily quieter as the years went on.

It was not that his life was any less hectic. Raising a family and going through the daily peaks and lulls of life were enough to make things interesting at intervals. He sometimes wondered how parents coped with having more than one child; his and Taichi's time raising Momoko, their daughter, had brought enough stress into his life to give him one too many wrinkles on his face. Between skinned knees, crushes, broken bones, teenage drama, and more, Yamato couldn't fathom having to face the same highs and lows all over again, or multiple teenage attitudes at the same time.

He would never trade in anything for the life he had, though. Momo was the light that kept his and Taichi's lives illuminated.

It was as Momo got older that he found mornings in particular to grow still with time. He almost missed the years when Saturday mornings meant getting up at 6 AM to be with an unbelievably awake 7-year-old Momo and going through cycles of laughing, playing, and tantrums every half hour. Still, on this particular morning, cup of coffee in hand, with only the sounds of the radio on low in the kitchen, he felt pretty good. Taichi had gone out for a run, and Momo, being 17, could take care of herself.

Moments later, as if on cue, Momo tiptoed into the kitchen, her footsteps catlike and silent.

"Morning, Dad." She moved with grace across the floor to Yamato, where he was leaning casually against the counter. Though she was silent, Yamato knew her well enough to know a storm was brewing. He supposed not every morning could be peaceful.

"Good morning, Momo...what's on your agenda today?"

Momo had stuck her head into the fridge, and Yamato could hear the lightest sigh from her. He took a sip from his mug; he'd try to be casual with her, but he knew it was hit or miss whether she'd share anything.

With movement that startled even Yamato, Momo slammed the fridge shut, an apple in hand. "It's just...the worst. It's literally the worst," she lamented, throwing her head back in teenage agony.

"What is?"

"Love! Dating! Everything about it is just...awful," she continued. She took a violent bite of the apple, leaving Yamato a little disturbed by the action.

"Er...any particular reason why?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she finished, leaving the conversation in the dust and throwing herself in one of their counter stools. Yamato had to smile, though he made sure she wasn't looking. He was used to these bursts of feeling followed by radio silence.

She turned back, then, looking up at her father sheepishly. "Do you think you can French braid my hair? I'm going to the mall with Yua."

"Sure; turn, please." She obliged, facing away from the counter so her father could sit in the chair behind her. He took one last sip from his mug and placed it in the sink before sitting and starting with her hair.

"I'm glad learning some hairstyles came in handy," he said, starting to separate the brown strands. She preferred a braid around the crown of her head, circling all sides with the rest falling straight down her back. Hairstyling was decidedly not on either Yamato or Taichi's agenda when they were preparing to bring her home; when she was old enough to request certain styles, Yamato had quickly found himself in a class he'd found online.

Momo chewed on her apple thoughtfully. "Did you think when you were a badass rock star all those years ago that you'd be here braiding a teenage girl's hair in the present?"

"I'm still a badass rock star, thank you very much. Just a slightly more domestic badass rock star with great styling skills." She laughed then; if anything, she'd gotten her sense of humor and dry sarcasm from both of her parents.

They were silent for a few moments while Yamato got to work and Momo continued her breakfast. Truthfully, Yamato was trying to work on a way to talk about her brief outburst. They'd had a few conversations about respecting her privacy and boundaries; he didn't exactly want to pry into what was wrong. He eventually decided to go with a more direct approach.

"About what you said earlier, about love and dating." He felt her tense up, then immediately continued "I'm not interested in poking and prodding into your personal life, don't worry. I get it, I'm your dad, I'm lame, I don't understand, etcetera."

She was quiet a moment before shrugging. He took that as an approval to continue speaking.

"I may not know what's going on, but if you're interested, I can share how your father and I have made our relationship work," he continued, still separating her hair to begin braiding.

"I mean...you guys *have* been together for 86 years."

"Not 86 years."

"Fine. How many years?" Yamato paused, clearly doing the math in his head. "I'm going to bring this up to Daddy at your next anniversary when you don't know how many years you've been together," she teased. Yamato scowled.

"Try asking your father how many years it's been, and he'll struggle just as much," he retorted, smiling. "It's been 27 years...geez, didn't think it's been that long…"

"Basically 86 years."

"Do you want to hear it or not?" Momo could hear the amused smile in his voice and chuckled under her breath.

"I mean...you guys are kind of the perfect love story."

"We're far, far, far from perfect, Momoko."

"But you guys are like, so sappily in love. And who can say they've been with someone for their entire adult life? 27 years sounds like forever. It sounds impossible to be happy for all that time." She finished on a quieter note, clearly thinking too much about something.

"There's a few important things to take away from a relationship like the one your father and I have," he started. "For one, it's a bold assumption to think we're perfect. We've had plenty of disagreements and fights over the years. Broke up more than a few times before we got married. There's still some things we don't agree on."

Momo listened quietly. For all of her life, she'd never really heard the story behind the romance. It was just something that was always true: her fathers were always supportive of both her and each other. She never questioned that they were in love. They were always the pinnacle of love to her. She aspired to be like them.

"There was a lot of time that was tumultuous in those 10 years before we got married, Momo. Growing up essentially means living through all kinds of chaos and heartache before you start to see what's worth fighting for or letting go. It's something you'll go through, too. Not to say that you should be scared of it at all; you'll find there's beauty waiting just on the other side of any dark moment.

"But your father and I...we have a lot of things that were going for us. We meshed well despite our differences. We loved every part of each other, including those differences and flaws. But there's one part that is the most important above all else."

"That you never gave up on each other?"

"That's part of it, yes, but not the main part."

"Don't leave me on the edge of my seat! What is it?"

Yamato smiled, pining one braid before starting on the other. "It's that we don't need each other."

Momo twirled around to glare at her father. "That is decidedly less romantic than what I was anticipating. What gives?" This prompted him to laugh out loud, earning himself a deeper scowl from Momo. He motioned for her to turn back around.  
"Will you hear me out?" She pouted and turned, crossing her arms.

"Of course romance was and is a big part of our relationship, but what a lot of people don't realize is that you can't live in a vacuum with your partner. We're still two separate people. All of that talk about soul mates and finding your other half...it's not something that your father or I believe in.

"Being together this long takes work, and part of that work is living our separate lives. I will always support everything your father does, as he will with me, but my life running the store and giving music lessons is 100% mine, just like your father's life teaching and coaching is all his. We've never made decisions for each other. Consulting each other when big decisions come up is important, but ultimately we do what's best for us individually." Momo nodded slowly; these concepts were against everything she'd learned from romantic comedies, but clearly her parents' relationship had worked for a reason.

"All of that is to say...we don't have a codependent need to be around each other all the time or know what the other is doing at all times. He has his hobbies and friends, I have mine, and we spend all that other time in the middle being with each other and with you." Yamato found himself smiling as he spoke. It had taken a long time for their relationship to reach that point. Yamato would never give up any of the bad times he'd had with Taichi to get to that moment. He pinned the second braid and worked on final touches.

"We don't need each other...but every day, we choose each other. That is the most important part." He tapped her shoulder to let her know he was done, and she turned to face him.

"Just don't tell your father that. He'll go and get a big head…" But Momo was looking behind her father and trying to suppress a grin. Knowing he'd been caught, he said out loud, "How long have you been standing there, Taichi?"

Taichi, grinning from ear to ear, was leaning against the doorframe. Neither Yamato nor Momo had heard him come in from his run, and both were facing away from the door. He relished in being able to see his two favorite people in such a casual but tender moment. The context of the conversation was just the icing on the cake.

"Just long enough to hear about how much you like me," the brunette replied, teasing. Yamato rolled his eyes with a smile on his face before getting up to get another cup of coffee. Taichi walked in, planting a kiss on his daughter's hair as she greeted him good morning. She jumped up as her phone buzzed.

"Yua's ready; I'll see you guys later!" She side hugged Taichi then turned to give a full hug to Yamato. "Thanks for the talk, Dad."

He grinned, hugging back with one arm. "Any time, brat. Go have fun." She saluted and waved before heading out the door.

Yamato had grabbed his own mug from the sink and opened the cabinet to get another one for Taichi. "How was your run?" he asked, pouring some life-giving liquid for the both of them.

Instead of a response, Yamato felt Taichi wrap his arms around him from behind, holding him close. He was just tall enough for his chin to rest comfortably on Yamato's shoulder, putting them cheek to cheek.

"It was fine," he muttered, placing a kiss on the side of Yamato's neck. The blonde put down the coffee pot, placing his arms over Taichi's and leaning his head into his husband's. Warmth filtered down through both of them. Regardless of what might happen to them, they'd always live for these moments.

"I just want you to know," Taichi started, keeping his voice low, "that I plan on choosing you every day for the rest of my life."

They were still, letting the statement sink in, before Yamato turned in Taichi's arms. He placed his hands on either side of his husband's face, letting his smile grow wide. Rarely anyone made Yamato smile the way Taichi did.

"Good," Yamato started, his eyes moving from Taichi's lips to his eyes. "Same." Taichi's smile quickly matched Yamato's. The brunette closed the space between them, and they lingered in a slow, chaste kiss.

They didn't have to rush; they knew they had plenty of time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Digimon was my first true love and has stayed with me all these years, in particular stories about Taichi and Yamato, who are my number one OTP. I may start writing some more, including this verse in which they raise Momoko :) Comments are always welcome.


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